1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print system corresponding to a print service, a server apparatus and printer which are used in the print system, and a control method of the print system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a system that a client apparatus (user apparatus) provided in the Intranet of a company is enabled to use various kinds of services provided on the Internet has been proposed. In such a system, generally, a firewall is provided at a boundary between the Intranet and the Internet.
The firewall has been set in such a manner that although a connection from the Intranet side to the Internet side is permitted, a connection from the Internet side to the Intranet side is refused. Thus, an invasion from an apparatus on the Internet side into the Intranet is protected. In consideration of such a background, in a communication system using the Web in the related art, the client apparatus requests a server apparatus to obtain information and the server apparatus returns the information (pull communication).
In the related art, a print system which is used in a company can be used through the Internet. Since the firewall exists, an offer of the print service to the client apparatus through the Internet is realized by the pull communication in which an image forming apparatus in the Intranet tries to obtain a print job existing in a print server on the Internet. A print process which is realized by the pull communication is called a pull print process.
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2009-294920 discloses a remote printing system in which various kinds of information of a plurality of apparatuses connected through a network is collected while assuring a security from a server side. According to such a system, the user performs an authentication to a print server by a client computer and uploads a print job into the print server. An intervening apparatus in the Intranet periodically inquires of the print server on the Internet, and if the print job to a printer in the Intranet exists, the apparatus receives the print job and transfers to the printer.
In a system for executing the pull print process of WSD (Web Services on Devices), the following print process is executed. That is, the client computer transmits a pull printing request to the image forming apparatus in the Intranet. The pull printing request includes a URL of the print job of the print server existing on the Internet. The image forming apparatus which received the pull printing request obtains the print job to the print server and executes the print process in response to the obtained print job.
In the system for executing the pull print process in the related art, an authentication at the time when the image forming apparatus obtains the print job to the print server is made by using authentication information which has been set every image forming apparatus. However, such an authentication is an authentication of every image forming apparatus and the authentication of every user cannot be performed.
There is now considered a method whereby the client computer transmits token information for executing the authenticating (or authorizing) process of every user to the image forming apparatus, so that the image forming apparatus executes the authenticating process or authorizing process of every user when it obtains the print job to the print server. However, according to such a method, in the case where a kind of token information which is used in the print system is added or changed later, software of the image forming apparatus has to be changed.
It is an object of the invention to provide a print system for executing a pull print process, wherein an authenticating process of every user who receives a print service can be executed, and even in the case of changing token information which is used in the authenticating process, there is no need to change software of the image forming apparatus.